Eulogy
by AngeloftheOdd
Summary: After L's death, Near and Mello temporarily set aside their differences in order to pay their respects to him.


**Eulogy**

**By Angel of the Odd**

L was dead. It had to be some kind of sick joke. Another test that would, yet again, pit the two of them against each other in a battle of wills. L doesn't die. L is Justice. Villains like Kira never, ever win. Not with L around. But L was gone. L was dead.

Near, for all his seeming indifference, was in actuality, disappointed upon hearing the news. Mello, on the other hand, was outright pissed. It was like a slap in the face. A personal insult. It meant that Kira had won. No. To Mello, it meant that L had lost. L doesn't lose. Then, to add insult to injury, he learned Near was to take his place. Mello had matched wits with Near on many occasions. Near didn't always win. Then, again, neither did Mello himself.

Near was playing with his blank puzzle-blank save for one small piece with the "L" insignia on it-that L had made for him. He would never admit it, but it was his most prized possession. Near had known L. Not as a faceless voice behind a computer screen, but as a person. He had looked up to him like an older brother.

Mello had known L on a personal level too. Mello didn't look up to L like an older brother. Mello viewed him with awe. Not even when he and Matt had gotten an autograph from the lead singer of their favorite punk band, had he been as starstruck as when he first met L. He had acted a fool trying to impress him.

Mello and Near sat in their room. Near was solving and resolving his puzzle. Mello was punching the wall. What the hell do you say to someone you hate, when someone that you both loved has died?

Near broke the silence first.

"Do you remember when he first told us the stories of his past cases?"he asked.

"Of course I do," Mello replied, angrily. "How could I forget? You made him repeat the Los Angeles BB Murder case three times."

"Only after you insisted on hearing the Detective Wars a second time."

"It was a better story. It had swearing and lots of guns. It was cool to hear L curse."

Near seemed to ruminate on this for a moment and a then, a wide grin spread across his face.

"Actually, it was," he said.

"Are you telling me we're agreeing on something for once?" Mello asked.

He lowered his eyes and added in a gentler tone,

"I suppose if there was one thing in this entire world that could do that it would be L."

"You're sad," Near said.

There was a hint of sympathy in his voice.

"It's okay. I am, too."

"Yeah, well being sad isn't going to bring him back," Mello answered. "And it isn't going to catch that bastard, Kira, either."

"No it won't. You are correct."

"Near, snap out of it. You just told me I was right about two things today."

"Yes. I suppose I did."

Mello took a seat on the floor beside Near and connected one of the puzzle peices.

"You know," he said. "You're right too. The BB Murder Case was pretty kick ass. L was a great narrator. He always kept our attention."

"And Lord knows how difficult that is with your attention span," Near said.

"Hey, I'm trying to be nice!" Mello replied. "No need to insult me!"

"I did not mean it as an insult. I was merely stating a fact."

"Hey, Near?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think he'll be buried here? Close to Wammy's House?"

"Doubtful. I don't think the location of his grave will ever be made public. Even to us."

"I thought so, too. Well, doesn't this just fucking suck. We aren't even able to pay our final respects."

"That's not true," Near said. "In a way, we're sort of doing that right now."

"Yeah. We are," Mello replied. "L spent so much time at Wammy's. Maybe a part of him is still here. This is his old room, after all."

They both suddenly felt that notion very comforting.

"Do you still have your markers?" Mello asked.

"Up there. On the top shelf," Near answered. "You should know where. You borrowed one last week, remember?"

How could Mello forget. He had written NEAR IS A TWIT in four-foot-high letters above the urinals in the boys' bathroom.

"I was playing around," he said, sheepishly. "It seemed really funny at the time. Anyway, that's not what I want it for this time. Actually..."

He jumped to his feet and walked over to Near's bookshelf. He rummaged around the top until he found a large black magic marker.

"It's exactly what I want it for."

He stood on his bed. Sticking his tongue out to the side of his mouth, he began to draw a large calligraphic "L" on the wall.

"I don't think that's quite the fitting tribute L deserves," Near said. "But maybe it's a start."

"It's a damn good start," Mello said.

He hopped down and stood back to admire his masterpiece.

"But it's not enough, is it?"

"Remember what L said. About liking the garden?" Near asked.

"He said he like the flowers," Mello answered. "The blue ones."

"They were roses. He said he had never seen them that colour before."

"That was the same day he brought us that giant cheese cake. Then ate half of it himself."

"I want to go to the garden, Mello," Near said. "But first let's stop by the kitchen."

The pair slipped quietly out of the room and made their way down the darkened hallway. Near could clearly see better in the dim light than Mello, who stubbed his toe on a pair of boots someone had left outside their door.

"Shit!" Mello cursed.

Near put his hand across Mello's mouth.

"Be quiet," he said.

"Yeah," Mello answered. "Sorry."

They rounded the corner and, much to their dismay, there were lights on in the kitchen. They could see the steel refrigerator door slightly ajar.

"Stay here," Near instructed. "I'll be right back."

"Don't get caught," Mello whispered.

"Don't worry."

Near waited until he was far enough from Mello's reach and added,

"I'm not a clumsy oaf like you."

Mello choked down his urge to holler something back. This was for L, after all, and he couldn't afford to fuck this up by blowing their cover.

He watched as Near peered into the room and then quickly snagged something from the fridge. It was a plate. On it was a piece of chocolate cake.

Mello gave him a thumb's up sign. Near motioned for Mello to follow him. They continued to covertly head to the sliding glass doors leading outside. Mello was a pro at silently opening these doors. After all, he had used them to sneak in and out of Wammy's House since the second night of his arrival.

The air was crisp and cool. Near shivered in his pajamas. Bare-footed and with no jackets, they walked across the damp ground towards the very corner of the garden.

"Should have thought this through better," Mello said.

"Yes," Near agreed. "We should have. But that's not what matters now."

They had made it to their destination. All but one rose had withered with frost. It looked eerily beautiful in the moonlight. Near placed the plate at the foot of the rosebush. Mello picked up a stick and drew an "L", in the same manner as he had before, in the dirt beside it.

"For L," Near said.

"For L," Mello repeated.

Near had tears forming in his large eyes. Mello couldn't fight back his own any longer, either.

"I'm going to miss him," Near said, wiping his nose on the long sleeve of his pajamas.

"I know," Mello answered. "Me too."

Mello put his arm around Near. He wasn't sure if it it was the boy beside him he was trying to comfort or himself. He was surprised when Near embraced him. He was even more surprised when he found himself hugging back.

Somewhere in the distance church bells chimed.

No one but two boys holding one another in front of a make-shift shrine heard them.


End file.
